Homo Sapiens Halas
by Myth Queen
Summary: AU, spoilers for season 3. After six months of fighting to get Simmons back, Fitz is finally successful. Once Jemma is back, the team learns she was sent back 10,000 years into the past, and became one of the first Inhumans. But while it has only been six months for them, she has lived through five years of violence and war. She will do anything to protect her people.
1. Chapter 1

The black grains of sand rolled off Leo's face and down his shirt as he slowly sat up. In relief he noted the worried faces of his teammates peering in the large hole at him. He was back. And the distinctive, warm hand in his was proof enough that he had not failed in his mission.

"Fitz?" Jemma's voice was small, but so clearly hers that Leo's heart nearly burst with joy.

He brushed the ruined remnants of the Monolith off of Jemma, hands trembling. What sort of state would she be in? At his touch she stirred, raising her head. There were gasps and laughs of delight from the team, but Leo ignored them, focusing on Jemma. As the black sand poured off her, he got his first good look at her.

Leo gasped.

Jemma's skin was covered in thick, twisting vines. Like tattoos of red and blue, they looked similar to computer wires running just under her skin. They wound up her arms and circled her neck, though her face was relatively clear of them. And her face! She wore thick makeup, heavy black eyelids with dark maroon lips, and a dusting of gold over her cheeks and forehead. A tangled knot of scarred flesh distorted her left eyebrow, and thin silver chains dangled around her head from a diadem.

"J-Jemma?"

He stared as she got to her feet. Her hair, cut to shoulder-length when she left, was now to her waist, braided with ribbons and beads. She wore a knee-length tunic, green, sleeveless, belted about the waist. Her feet were shod in sturdy boots that hugged her calves. Knives, silver with a streak of red and blue down the length of them, hung in her belt, and a streamlined shotgun was strapped to her back.

Everybody was silent, looking at the woman who looked so much like and so different from Jemma Simmons. She looked back, and she smiled.

"It's good to be home."

#

Jemma felt herself relaxing for the first time in years as she sat on her lab, getting checked over. She knew she would be bombarded with questions soon enough, but before she got there she requested that she be checked for any diseases, and to be allowed a shower and a change of clothes. Her weapons had been confiscated, but she had expected that, and with Leo holding her hand, she felt safe.

"Your hair has grown," he offered while a sample of blood was taken.

Jemma swallowed, her stomach starting to feel queasy. "How long have I been gone?"

She couldn't be sure that the time ratio on the other side of the monolith had been the same.

"Six months, about."

"Six months? Is that all?" She wouldn't look at Leo now. Six months. Well, she was back, and six months wasn't so bad for him. "You must have been very worried."

He nodded. "I'm just glad your back."

Later, when she was in her room, she stared at her face in the mirror. So much had happened since she last stood in this room. She was a different person. She could never go back to being the old Jemma Simmons. Taking a deep breath, she washed the makeup off her face. Without the heaviness there, she felt vulnerable. But these were her friends. They were her equals, they were her family. She undid her braid and, with the knife she had kept hidden, sliced her hair off, letting the weight of it fall to the floor.

"That's better," she told herself, running her hands through what was left. It felt good.

Dressing in her old clothes was like slipping into an old skin, though her shirts were tight around the shoulders now. Having been so long without wearing jeans made them feel constricting now, though that could be because her leg muscles had grown as well. She opted for a skirt instead.

Bobbi, still not healed from Ward's attack, and Mack walked to the meeting room, both telling her how glad they were that she was back, and studiously not looking at the designs on her skin. Well. they'd know soon enough.

Coulson, Leo and Skye were waiting for her, and soon after she had taken her seat, Hunter came in. He sat opposite Bobbi and didn't look at her. Jemma frowned. Had they broken up again?

"Jemma, it's good to have you back. Now, can you tell us what happened?"

Jemma smiled, though her heart started fluttering with nerves again. She wished she could go to Leo's side and take his hand, but it was ridiculous, after everything she had been through, to need anybody's support. "It's a long story. Five years, in fact."

The expressions around her changed, and Jemma ducked her head. She expected the tinkling of her diadem, but then remembered that it had been taken away. Well. Good riddance. There was nothing but bad memories with that thing.

"Five years?" Leo repeated.

Jemma nodded. "Five years, and ten thousand years. The monolith was a portal through space and time. And I'm sorry that I've caused you all so much worry and grief." She looked at Leo here. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Bobbi said bracingly. "The monolith took you—"

"I built it."

Eyes widened and jaws dropped. Jemma twisted her hands, taking a deep breath. "I built the monolith to take me back in time, because I needed to be there. You'll all soon understand. Especially Skye."

Her friend shook her head. "I go by Daisy now."

"Daisy." Jemma made the mental note. "Of course. Daisy."

Mack stood up and moved to Daisy's side. "You built the monolith? We thought it was a Kree design to kill Inhumans."

"Far from it. It's my design to bring me back to where I needed to be. I can understand why it would be thought of as a weapon, though. I could not program it to my DNA specifically, and so I could only make it react to Inhuman DNA. I'm certain it has taken many through the ages. And for that…" she trailed off. "Let me start from the beginning. When the Monolith took me away, it deposited me ten thousand years ago. I'm not sure exactly where I was, but I ended up in a tribe of early modern humans. It wasn't long after when we were taken by the Kree."

She paused, letting that bit sink in. There was a lot she could say about her life before the Kree took her and her friends, but that was for another time. Everybody waited in silence for her to continue, and so she did.

"I was among the first Inhumans created by the Kree."

"Holy—" Daisy started. Her eyes widened and she got to her feet. "Are you serious?"

Jemma nodded, smiling sadly. "I am. You didn't think this happened by accident, did you?" She gestured at the red and blue vines in her skin. "And you must know from my blood tests that my DNA has changed completely."

Coulson nodded slowly. "We wondered if you would tell us."

"This is what happened when I was put through Terregenisis." Jemma wondered how they would react when she told them about why she came back, why she didn't just stay back in time. "I'm Inhuman. Just like Sk—Daisy."

"Wow," Hunter muttered.

Jemma ignored him, watching Daisy's reaction.

"When did you change?"

"It was only a month or so after I was sent back in time. I hadn't even learned the language of my ancestral hosts yet. I believe I was already a latent Inhuman before, if I'm honest. In fact…" she hesitated here, because she wasn't sure how her team was going to take the news. "I believe that I was the Kree's first successful attempt because I was already Inhuman. And they used my DNA to supplement their own in the creation of the others."

"So…" Leo's eyes were wide and his face was pale. He looked between Jemma and Daisy.

"Technically, if my theory is correct, all Inhumans are descended from me. Including me." Jemma laughed. "It's a paradox, to be sure. But I can't think of another explanation. All the others went mad before self-destructing. Well, the early anatomically modern humans, at least. The Neanderthals fared better, though they were turned into more animalistic creatures. No powers, just… consumed by the insatiable desire to kill us."

Coulson nodded for her to continue.

Daisy interrupted. "These Neanderthals. Are they still around?"

"As far as I know, yes. I believe that the Kree put them into status, as an insurance policy against us." Jemma's chest grew hot, and she clenched her fists. "We didn't give them the chance."

"What do you mean by that?" Daisy's voice was soft.

Jemma's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "What I mean is that the Kree thought of us as their property. Their slaves and their weapons. When we refused to be used as such, they tried to exterminate us. We defended ourselves."

"You killed them." Coulson's expression was unreadable.

"We revolted against their tyranny and in defence of our lives. We knew it was a hopeless fight, but we had to, if we were to have any chance of survival. In the end, we had to… we had to convince them that we were all destroyed." Jemma closed her eyes, remembering the faces of the volunteers who had died so the others could survive. "We hid after that. Many who were changed on the inside only returned to their places throughout the world and reintegrated into the human populations, but those of us who had changed too much stayed together in the underground Kree cities until we could build a place of our own, where we could be safe for the rest of eternity."

She had already decided not to tell them about the prophecy that as made, that the Inhumans would rise up once more and destroy the Kree altogether. They wouldn't understand the horrors that had been inflicted upon her people, or how all she wanted was for them to live in peace. She could only hope that the Kree themselves would not believe the prophecy any longer. If they didn't, then there was a chance that both sides could survive.

If not… well. Then her people would prove the prophecy correct.

They all sat in silence for a long time, every one of them taking turns looking at her and not looking at her. Jemma's nerves twisted again. Perhaps she should have saved that for later, but she wanted to start this off honestly.

"What can you do?" Daisy asked. She came to sit beside Jemma.

Jemma smiled. "I interact with technology. For instance…" She looked at Coulson, eyes sparkling. "Sir, could you put your prosthetic on the table?"

Coulson hesitated a moment, but removed his robotic arm and placed it palm-down on the table. Jemma pressed her hands together, narrowing her eyes at the prosthetic. It took a bit of concentration, but she managed to distinguish its circuitry from the rest of the plane, and slowly curled the fingers into a fist. She flexed them, and made the hand pull itself along the table a foot before she turned it on its side and gave a thumbs-up.

She sat back then, severing her connection. "That was more difficult than I thought. It's a more complex technology than I expected. Although I could do a few tweaks to make it more efficient for you, sir."

Even Daisy was staring at her as though they'd never seen her before. Jemma tried to smile. They must be thinking about what sort of threat she now posed. Hacking computers. Taking over the plane. She cleared her throat.

"I can't do much with software. I can manipulate the physical, but when it comes to programs and signals it's just too complex for me to handle. I have tried with Kree ships in the past, trying to hack their controls, and I've very nearly lost myself. My neurological pathways get overwhelmed and I start thinking in binary code. And I can't do anything with very simple technologies, like deadbolts. Mostly I just know how to build things."

"Build things," Leo repeated.

"All this is fascinating," Hunter said, though his dry tone was not enough to cover up his uneasiness. "But I'm more interested in learning why you were all dressed up as a queen when you first came in."

Jemma was silent, debating on how much to tell them. She wanted to be honest, but how much honesty was too much? She moved her hands back into her lap. "That's because I was. I led the Inhumans against the Kree. I was the one who came up with the plan to hide our existence from them. When we founded our civilization, they crowned me their queen."


	2. Chapter 2

Leo approached Jemma's room, uncertain what he was going to say or do. Five years? What could he say after five years? And after he had gone through a war? And become a queen. That was perhaps the most difficult part to wrap his head around. Jemma had been an Inhuman queen. The fact that she was Inhuman was a shock, but he didn't think it made much of a difference. After Daisy's tough change, Jemma having already gone through it and come to terms with it seemed quite secondary.

At least, it was to him. He didn't know how Coulson would feel about it, but at the moment he didn't really care.

Jemma smiled at him when he knocked on the doorframe, though her room was open. She'd applied foundation or something to the blue and red lines on her neck and arms, making them slightly more muted. She sat on her bed, holding her favorite book.

"How are you?" he asked, sitting on the bed at her feet.

"I'm good. Really, I am." Jemma set aside her book. "It's strange not to have council meetings and plan war strategies, but it's a good strange. I haven't felt this safe in… a long time."

Leo nodded, trying to understand what it must feel like to her. "Jemma… I'm sorry I didn't get you back sooner."

"Oh, Fitz." A sad smile spread over her face. She leaned forward, cupping his face. "You couldn't have. I only built the monolith a month ago. I didn't even know if it would work to bring me back. I just knew I had to get back. My people no longer needed me there. I think I'm needed here."

There was a stab of disappointment, but Leo pushed it aside. Five years. She probably wasn't that interested in dinner anymore.

"I didn't know how much I missed you, until I heard your voice again." Jemma glanced away, and a pale flush crept into her cheeks. "There was so much happening, I didn't have time to think about how I felt. But I missed you, Leo. I missed you every day."

"I missed you, too."

She smiled again. "I'm sorry that I put you through so much grief for the past six months. I wish… Well. Sometimes I wish you went with me, other times I know that would have been a terrible mistake. At least I knew that you were here, being the brilliant man you are, fighting to get me back. It gave me strength. It gave me hope."

"I'm glad I was able to give you that, at least." His shoulders relaxed, drinking in the sight of her, safe once again. "But…"

Her brow furrowed. "But?"

"But did you leave anybody behind there? I mean, five years. It's a long time." His cheeks warmed, and he regretted the question instantly. "Never mind. That's none of my business. I sound like jealous—"

"There was." Jemma squeezed his hand. "In a way, there was. A Kree scientist. He was part of the team that created the Inhumans, so I never fully trusted him. But we grew close. He was excited about the progress I made. We spent a lot of time together, and he taught me a lot about science and genetics. He sort of took me under his wing and protected me from the others. When we were declared a failed experiment, he fought for us to stay alive, and smuggled me out. That's how I managed to get a small group out. Then we stopped the executions, and… fought for our freedom. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead."

Leo nodded, encouraging her to continue. When she didn't, he drew in a deep breath. "So... you were quite close. What happened to him?"

"He died. And we were close. I cared for him. He was a friend, and I'm fairly certain that he… well. He had feelings for me. I had feelings too." She looked at her hands, twisting the hem of her shirt between them. There was a slight trembling to them. "But it wasn't like how I feel for you."

Leo held his breath, shock rippling him. After six months for him and five years for her, he didn't expect any of this. He expected time, and healing, and needing to get to know each other again. Jemma was the one to hold back before, but now, it felt like he was the one who had to keep things going slower. He didn't know her anymore, and didn't want things to go too quickly, acting as if it nothing had changed. Or maybe Jemma wasn't suggesting what he was thinking.

"Leo?"

"I, uh. I don't know how to reply to that." He winced. "I didn't mean that. What I mean is that I just hope that… it's not too late."

"I hope so too. So maybe we can have that dinner sometime."

Leo grinned. "Yeah. That sounds great. I've been saving the reservation. I hope that doesn't come off as too pathetic…"

"That sounds very romantic." She hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Oh, Fitz. I've missed you so much."

#

Coulson said he wanted to talk to her, but Jemma was uncertain that it would be a good conversation. She had respected Coulson as director for a long time, but her own stint with leadership had taught her that leaders had to keep secrets, had to make sacrifices. And when a leader was afraid, everybody was afraid, and fear was what caused wars.

"Sir," she greeted when she entered his office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." He was at his desk, writing something. "Just a moment."

Jemma sat, quietly waiting. She looked around the room. It wasn't as familiar as other rooms in the plane were, but it was somewhat comforting to be back in the surroundings. Here, at least, she knew that nobody was going to try to blast her brains out.

Her arm started trembling, a twinge of pain in her shoulder. She closed her eyes, clenching her fist and waiting for it to pass. She had been shot, stabbed and beat so often in the past five years it was difficult to keep track of all her injuries.

Coulson muttered a low curse, and Jemma opened her eyes again. His mechanical hand was clenched tight, and he rubbed his elbow.

Jemma released her fist. "Sir, are you alright?"

"I'm just having a few difficulties." Coulson winced as he removed it. The fist was still clenched. "It doesn't fit quite right and can get painful if I wear it for a long time."

"Let me see." She held her hands. "When did it start? Sometimes I can mess things up. I'm sorry."

"Long before you came back. It's okay, it's nothing you did."

Jemma smiled. "Then let's see if I can fix it."

She laid it out flat on the desk, manipulating the fingers so they were no longer clenched. Laying one hand at the elbow connection, she ran her other hand down the length of it. Closing her eyes, she found a few connections not working to their full potential and tweaked the electric flow a bit. The effort made her forehead feel tight, but she didn't push herself.

"That's the best I can do right now." She handed it back. "Maybe I can take a look at the new model Leo is building, if it's alright with you."

Coulson nodded. "I'd like that. You and Fitz are getting along well, then?"

She nodded.

"Do you feel like you're ready to be a part of the team again?"

Jemma could have laughed. "Yes! Trust me when I say that I don't need any more time. I want to be back where I can be useful. I need to be able to help my people, and the best way I can do that is working with SHEILD and Daisy's new Inhuman team."

There was a slight tensing of the muscles around Coulson's eyes, which caused Jemma to tense as well. He must be thinking of Jaiying, and how she tried to 'help' the Inhumans

"Sir, SHIELD is the best hope we have of humans and Inhumans getting along. History is full of violence, and I have seen enough war. It is my prayer that we can find a peaceful solution. I don't want to have to go through another war, certainly not between humans and Inhumans. We're both subspecies of the same species. You're _Homo sapiens sapiens_. I'm _Homo sapiens halas_. We're both _Homo sapiens_."

Coulson laughed a little. " _Homo sapien halas_?"

"It's what I decided to call Inhumans as a scientific name. Hala is the name of the Kree home world. At least it was when I…" Memories of being in the lab, strapped to tables, injected, left in white padded rooms to recuperate, it all came rushing back to her. She closed her eyes and forced them away, breathing through the stress and tension. "I had friends. A lot of friends who died. Some killed by the Kree experiments. Some killed when the Kree decided to destroy us. Others killed when we fought for our freedom. Director, I will do just about anything to stop more people from dying."

Coulson studied her for a moment, and Jemma sat, trying to both keep her poise and let her honesty shine through. Everything she said was true. She would do almost anything. But she wouldn't allow her people to be slaves again. _It won't come to that._

The disembodied hand on the table twitched.

Coulson smiled. "We all want a peaceful solution."

Jemma smiled back. "Yes, we do."


End file.
